Hors-série The Great War


Not that it was "great," but it was global — the first war to be so. Its memory, and the trauma it forged through the accumulation of daily horrors, became permanently fixed in the collective imagination. Gathered here — closing out this tribute to the war books once kept by one of its soldier-writers, Maurice Genevoix — are other writers, other copies, other texts and artists who, whether up close or from a distance, lived the reality of the trenches and were able to bear witness to it.
44 works

Maurice Genevoix
Sous Verdun
Paris, Librairie Hachette, 1916.First printing, with a soldier's portrait drawing$300
René Benjamin
Gaspard
Paris, Arthème Fayard, [1915].Goncourt 1915, inscribed copy$240
Henri Barbusse
Le Feu
Paris, Flammarion, (December) 1916.Special “Les XX” printing, signed by the author: no. 1$4,800
Henri Barbusse
Le Feu
Paris, Ernest Flammarion, 1916.First edition, as published$240
Robert de Montesquiou
Les Offrandes blessées
Paris, Sansot, (May 23) 1915.Poetry at war: a deluxe copySold
Adrien Bertrand
L’Appel du sol
S.l., 1916.Complete autograph manuscript of a landmark Goncourt novel$9,600
Henry Malherbe
La Flamme au poing
Paris, Albin Michel, 1917.Prix Goncourt 1917$120
[DUHAMEL Georges] Denis Thévenin
Civilisation
Paris, Mercure de France, 1918.The "XX" printing, signed by the authorSold
[Georges Duhamel] Denis Thévenin
Civilisation
Paris, Mercure de France, (April 5) 1918.Rare first printing in a contemporary binding$180
Henry Malherbe
La Flamme au poing
Paris, Albin Michel, (August 31) 1945.Inscribed to Pierre Descaves$120
Jean Cocteau & Paul Iribe
Le Mot
Paris, aux bureaux de la revue, imp. Crété, 1914 et 1915.Complete run: Poulenc's copy, inscribed$3,000
Guillaume Apollinaire
Lettre autographe signée à Pierre-Victor Stock
“February 5, 1915 [for 1916]” [sic].Announcing Le Poète assassiné$3,600
Guillaume Apollinaire
Le Poète assassiné
Paris, Bibliothèque des Curieux, 1916.With an envelope to "S=Lieutenant Guillaume de Kostrowitsky"$480
[GUERRE 14-18]
Album de photographies
[circa 1914-1917].From the Alsatian border to the Pas-de-Calais, via the Marne$600
Jean Cocteau
Lettre autographe signée à Monsieur Godebsky
[Paris, March 16, 1915].Patrons rally to the war effortSold
Jean de La Ville de Mirmont
Les Dimanches de Jean Dézert
Paris, J. Bergue, 1914.A family copy$1,200
Alberto Giacomo Martini
La Danza macabra europea
Trévise, Longo Domenico, [1914-1915].A unique album of 42 original lithographs$9,600
René Benjamin
Gaspard
Paris, Arthème Fayard, 1915.With the rare Goncourt bandSold
René Benjamin
Gaspard
Paris, Arthème Fayard, [1915].One of the first 20 copies on Hollande paperSold
René Benjamin
Gaspard
Paris, Arthème Fayard, 1915.Signed special printing for “Les XX”$1,200
François Porche
L’Arrêt sur la Marne
Paris, Éditions de la NRF, (January 24) 1916.The Battle of the Marne in verseSold
Guillaume Apollinaire
Le Poète assassiné
Paris, Bibliothèque des Curieux, 1916.With an autograph note relating to the volume$2,400
Francis Carco
Les Innocents
Paris, La Renaissance du Livre, 1916.Presentation copy with autograph note$180
Maurice Genevoix
Sous Verdun
Paris, Librairie Hachette et Cie, 1916.First edition, first printingSold
Adrien Bertrand
L’Appel du sol
Paris, Calmann-Lévy, (October) 1916.Goncourt 1914: the deluxe copy on Hollande paperSold
Henri Barbusse
Le Feu
Paris, Ernest Flammarion, 1916.Copy on Hollande paper, in wrappersSold
Henri Barbusse
Le Feu
Paris, Ernest Flammarion, (December) 1916.The Prix Goncourt 1916: deluxe copy on Japanese paperSold
Maurice Genevoix
Nuits de guerre
Paris, Ernest Flammarion, (May) 1917.A combatant's copy, on the Verdun frontSold
Georges Duhamel
Vie des martyrs
Paris, Mercure de France, 1917.A magnificent first edition, inscribedSold
[Maurice Larrouy] Y.
L’Odyssée d’un transport torpillé
Paris, Librairie Payot, 1917.Femina 1917, early Pierre-Lucien Martin binding$360
Showing 30 works out of 44.